In one bit, he mimics an Al Pacino-DeNiro movie scene (from "Heat," 1995) with Sylvester Stallone and Schwarzenegger, the former action hero and California governor, as the antagonists.

"It's always something I've seemed able to do since I was a young child," Spears, 37, said recently from a tour stop in Baton Rouge, La. "I've had it all the way 'til now. I've been blessed with talent."

His genetic history might have helped. Doris Spears, his mother, is a jazz and blues singer who toured with Lionel Hampton's band in the 1980s.

She didn't name Aries for his astrological sign (he was born April 3): "My mother smoked a lot of weed every now and then," he joked.

At age 8, Spears "probably was imitating stuff I saw on TV. Just things. Human behavior. Just normal stuff. Normal people. I'd imitate people at family events."

His entertainer mom and dad, salesman James Martin, encouraged him.

"Oh, definitely," Spears said. "They were very supportive. A lot of times, my mom would take me to gigs, auditions and stuff like that."

Born in Chicago and raised in New Brunswick, N.J., and New York, Spears began performing in local comedy clubs at 15. He got even more serious after being kicked out of high school at 17 for fighting.

Murphy was his comedic role model: "He was the comic of the era I grew up in. On 'Saturday Night Live.' "

While doing a show at the Peppermint Lounge in East Orange, N.J., Spears was spotted by a fellow comedian who helped Russell Simmons develop "Def Comedy Jam" (1992-97) for HBO.

"It was probably the biggest thing going in terms of urban comedy," said Spears of his youthful role on the show. "It was nerve-racking, but something I looked forward to doing. It's something that felt comfortable to me."

After a "couple of different ideas that didn't go" with Fox, Spears joined the cast of "MADtv," a weekly hour of sketch comedy inspired by the zaniness and irreverence of MAD magazine.

"It could be anything," said Spears, who appeared in 198 episodes between 1997 and 2005. "Just a range of a bunch of different things."

That included Belma Buttons, comedic co-host of "Reality Check," a fictional BET-style show; James Brown Jr.; Emcee Esher, a provocative rapper; and the host of "Real ... Talk with Dollar Bill Montgomery," a satire of HBO's Bill Maher.

Spears, who now lives in Northridge, also has established himself on the L.A. comedy-club circuit. In 2011, he created a Showtime stand-up special ("Aries Spears: Hollywood, Look I'm Smiling").

There's one impression he doesn't do, though he remains a major fan of Michael Jordan, the former National Basketball Association superstar.

"Who wasn't?" Spears said of his no-impression devotion. "No. Not at all."